A Meandering Life...

By Skeena

Markham Moor South

Serving a different fuel these days.


This building started life in the late 50s as just a roof with a petrol station under it. The design is known as a hyperbolic paraboloid and was designed by a local architect, Sam Scorer.

By the early 1980s, it had been converted into a Happy Eater who added the building underneath. It was rebranded into Little Chef in the mid-90s. A major road layout change saw trade suffer and nationally the brand feel into decline. In 2012 it closed and laid abandoned for many years. 

Ironically just 3 months after closing the roof gained Grade II listed status which would have boosted its appeal and given it some funding. The current occupier, a famous Seattle coffee house, has done a great job of reviving it. The colour scheme helps to highlight the beautiful roof, far more than the bright red of the Little Chef ever did.

Over the years I have noticed this building every time I travelled the A1. It reminds me of my hometown swimming pool in Hatfield that has another hyperbolic paraboloid roof of a much grander size. Whilst looking up its history I found a video of some lads skateboarding on the roof during its dormant years. 

Do look at yesterday's Blip if you missed it. I was a day late in posting… 

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